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k the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one

party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it's 25 minutes after the hour now. a lot of outrage big editorial

in the "new york times" blasting john boehner for delaying the vote on -- no reason to do it. they're not delaying the vote on relief, of course for the victims of hurricane sandy. what do they need more? they need more evidence there was a lot of damage done there. haven't they been watching television? maybe they should have gotten on the plane with president obama and toward the area with governor christie. by the way, i was reminded yesterday, my favorite memorial here in washington, after the lincoln memorial, is the fdr memorial. etched on the walls of that, some great statement by president roosevelt. this one always struck me. the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. boy, republicans certainly flunked that test again today. peter, what's going on? >> on the christie press conference, we're tweeting at bpshow. you can find us there at bpshow on twitter. travis moss says governor chris 'tis's problem as a republican

is he actually cares for all of his constituents, not just the rich ones. fred wilder says congressional republicans define success as how many americans they can cause real misery to with their votes. >> bill: these guys would walk away from this. remember eric cantor walked away from the earthquake victims in his own district. a couple of years ago. refusing more money for fema for the earthquake victims. in his own congressional -- >> cold-blooded. >> bill: totally cold-blooded. fran in springfield missouri. good morning. >> caller: good morning. new york and new jersey are blue states. republicans are not going to out of their way for that. >> bill: good point. governor christie made that point yesterday. new york and jersey, we've been there on the front lines helping people in other parts of the country, right, like in the tornado belt and others where they needed help. now it is our turn? what do we get?

>> there are more food stamps in the red states than the blue states. >> bill: it's interesting. they are blue states but there are a lot of republicans in those states, right? look at governor christie. so this idea that the politics would be behind it, i think you're right fran. unbelievable. you would think that in time of disaster, you don't ask people's party affiliation. i'm sure that's part of the thinking of the tea baggers. good for you fran. larry up in new briton, connecticut. hey, larry, good morning. connecticut had a lot of damage. >> caller: happy new year. >> bill: happy new year, yes indeed. >> caller: i could sense mr. boehner doesn't have many friends in washington these days. i sense a crying fit coming, don't you? >> bill: you know, i don't know whether -- he certainlyú isn't crying for the victims of hurricane sandy. >> caller: not for them. no, no. but anyways bill, i would like to say one thing about these republicans up in the northeast

like governor christie and representative king that mayor bloomberg has acknowledged climate change has had an effect on us and i think it's about time that they would recognize we have to do something about climate change. >> bill: larry excellent point. i would hope and i do think -- i do think that hurricane sandy particularly has raised the we'reness of this -- awareness again of this as a problem. we have to do something about climate change. i hope that's on the president's list of priorities for 2013. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." every day presents another exciting issue. from financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall

street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. there are real issues here. having been a governor, i know that trade-offs are tough. things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. i want our viewer to understand why things have happened. at the end of the show, you know what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, what's going to happen tomorrow.

>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: you bet it is. 33 minutes after the hour now. here we go on a beautiful thursday morning. january 3rd. happy new year, everybody. the "full court press" coming to you live from our nation's capital. brought to you today by the national education association. the good men and women of the nea under president dennis van roekel creating great public schools across this country for every student in america. you bet for more information look at their web site at nea.org. today, the day that the new congress will be sworn in. it is a day of festivity here in washington, d.c. not only the new members of the senate and the house but even

the returning members, the veterans who have been here, sworn in again and then they all invite their friends and neighbors and supporters for receptions and dinners and cocktail parties and there will be nothing but parties all day today. i've been invited to several. i'm going actually this afternoon, invited to attend the swearing in receptions for our good friend senator bernie sanders. >> nice. congratulations. >> bill: senator amy klobach. and the congressman who defeated allen west. >> oh, yeah, of all the wins, that was one of my favorites. >> bill: indeed. probably the best of all. we didn't get michele bachmann. we did get allen west. we're talking about the fact that the old congress still here until noon today but one thing

they will not do, they've already done all of their business. john boehner says no no, no, come on. there's no urgency with hurricane sandy. we've already waited, force those people to wait six times longer than it took to get help to the people of new orleans. we can let them wait until two weeks. what's the hurry? yeah. ask chris christie about that. why would republicans do this? what's it all about? arthur is in miami florida. good morning. >> caller: good morning and happy new year bill. >> bill: happy new year. thank you. >> caller: i just think that the republicans in particular, the tea party is so inhumane, this is payback for christie seeking praise on obama right after the storm. >> bill: i think there might have been some of that. we'll teach this christie a lesson or something like that, right? >> caller: they can't single them out but they just have no conception as to the suffering of the people over there.

they know the wealthier they're okay. they're covered. >> bill: how petty can you get, right? >> caller: you tell me. how petty have they been? >> bill: i think we see it in this case. more so perhaps than any other. you know, again i think they flunked the test back to fdr's admonition there. i think they flunked that test of caring more for the people who have too much than the people who have too little. they flunked that test twice this week. first in the build-up to this whole fiscal crisis because they were willing to let the country totally go over the cliff. let the economy tank if they didn't get their tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, they ended up caving in on that. secondly by this refusal to allow a vote in this session right now, you know how long that vote would have taken? probably ten minutes. because you do it electronically. it was not like they would have had to be like three or four days to debate this.

everybody knew. hurricane sandy we saw the damage and destruction. the senate has already acted. $60 billion. boom. all they need to do a schedule a vote. they push the button, it's done. john boehner had it up to here, didn't want to do it, walked away. doesn't give a crap. damon calling from detroit michigan. hey, damon what do you say? >> caller: i'm over here in chicago. >> bill: i'm sorry. >> caller: i'm a detroiter. i'm work over here. >> bill: what is your first name? >> caller: david. >> bill: david, good to have you with us. what do you think? >> caller: i agree with the last caller. i think it is political payback. makes it tremendously easy that the vast majority of those districts affected were democratic districts and i think it is political payback.

you par took in the action that was the demise of the last election and by god, you're going to pay the price. >> bill: it's like when -- if you're driving down the highway right, and you see an accident and somebody really needs help and you stopped to offer some help, you don't ask them are you a republican or a democrat? this whole concept is so foreign. >> caller: i wholeheartedly agree. went through the same thing in '08 when the majority of the republican party didn't want to help out with the restructuring of the auto industry. >> bill: yep. yep. exactly. all of those jobs, all of those american jobs, all of those american companies, the only real manufacturing base that we've got left in this country and they're willing to let that collapse as well. david, good to hear from you. stuart down in st. petersburg, florida. hi stuart. >> caller: good morning, bill and happy new year. >> bill: happy new year.

what's your take on all of this? >> caller: i think they should vote for it but i understand reading on "the huffington post" that there are hundreds of millions of dollars of pork tied into this bill. and i mean for example, why would the e.p.a. need over $100 million for hurricane relief when the e.p.a. has nothing to do with it? there was one that i agreed with. fema should get money. >> bill: right. >> but there was another one that they tied in that's also getting millions -- hundreds of millions of dollars that has absolutely nothing to do with the storm. and if you're going to tie a bill in for relief, for people of this devastating storm, i don't think any -- i don't think any group other than what is needed for them should get a dime. >> bill: yeah.

stuart -- look, you make an excellent point. and that's kind of the -- unfortunately, kind of the way washington works right. it's almost -- there's almost never a pure bill. for example, the fiscal fix right, included what was -- i had some notes here. $74 billion in goodies for nascar among other things. >> sure, why not. >> bill: for the hollywood film industry. you come down to it, stuart, when you've got the choice of just no help at all right or swallowing that -- putting forth that help with a little bit of pork to it, what's your choice? right? >> right. that's what i'm trying to -- i think that people don't realize -- sometimes as crazy as it is, bill, i think that we should send help down there but as crazy as it sounds, you know, it's -- the pork has to stop in washington and you and i know it

will never stop. >> bill: it won't stop. it won't stop as long as the lobbyists are camped out in washington stuart. you know that. i tell you one thing, i think that's why the president should have the power that some governors have to line-item veto so you get a bill like that. here's the good stuff in the bill but this pork, boom, boom, boom, i'm going to red line it out. sometimes you gotta take the little bit of bad with the whole lot of good. but i'll tell you again stuart that's not why john boehner walked away from this bill. he said -- he just didn't want to deal with anything else. he was so pissed off. he was so frustrated. he was so tired after the fiscal cliff fight that he just reneged on the people of the northeast who needed help from hurricane sandy. one more here. mary is calling from atlanta georgia. what do you say? good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: hi, what's up.

>> caller: your previous caller, arthur, mostly had it nailed. my take was that i don't think boehner could have gotten the expenditure through without some form of offset. i think he had a feeling or fear that the tea party is in the house -- the tea partiers in the house would have voted against it and therefore it would have had democratic support and maybe some republican support and he would not have looked good. >> bill: yeah. that could be. there's certainly some tea partiers saying two things. first that they didn't think there was sufficient -- they hadn't seen sufficient evidence that these people needed help. i don't know what planet they've been living on. the second point you make is we may give this money but only if we can cut the same amount of money somewhere else like out of medicare or social security. which they always try to do. so maybe that was part of john boehner's political calculation as well, mary. good to hear from you. love those southern voices.

i really do. >> makes me miss home. [ laughter ] >> bill: indeed. good news, too we mentioned yesterday. doctors were predicting a complete recovery for secretary of state hillary clinton. and what do you know. not that she's totally recovered yet but she did was released from the hospital yesterday and it was a great photo to see her and former president bill clinton and daughter chelsea clinton walking out getting into the vans and driving home to chappaqua. i'm sure she's delighted to be there. we wish her again a continued speedy and full and complete recovery. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were

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(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: hey, i've gotta tell you, man president obama he made a statement about the fiscal fix. hopped on air force i got to hawaii, went to the house maybe slept for a couple of hours went out worked out at his gym went back home. picked up his golf clubs, went out and played a round of golf, came back home, picture up michelle obama and went out to dinner last night with the whole group of friends. he was gone -- he was moving for like 24 hours. of course, he probably slept on air force i. >> hey, when you have to cut vacation short to do some work, you want to make up for some lost time. >> bill: what's the feeling around the white house about the fiscal cliff and are they ready

for the next battle? we checked in with the deputy white house editor for politico. edward isaac devore. hello. good to talk to you again. >> good morning, bill. how are you? >> bill: is the white house -- big victory chants at the white house when this thing came down? how do they feel about it? what do you hear? >> in general, this was seen as a big win over the house republicans, they feel like they got a fair amount of concessions from the other side especially when it comes to a -- the larger philosophical question of how taxes were going to be done and what was going to be done with tax rates going forward. the issue though is what happens next and that's where things get a little tricky and where the white house feels -- confident about how they're going to approach the next part of this and the next round of all of the

budget discussions. but it's much more of an open question whether it would have the kind of leverage that they'll need to get the kind of deal that they want. >> bill: i have to ask you this question. it is reported this morning i saw in the reports that the president actually signed -- ordered this bill signed. it has been signed, by auto pen. >> that's right. >> bill: now, is that legit? >> the justice department says so according to the white house. but this is where maybe taking right off to hawaii after he finished that statement on tuesday night and -- >> bill: i don't blame him for not hanging around but i'm surprised, they usually fly the bill over there and he signs it. >> there was another bill that he signed. >> bill: the defense authorization act. >> exactly. but the fiscal cliff bill didn't

arrive so he had to directly sign it by auto pen. i think this is the third bill that he's signed by auto pen. the justice department says it is totally legal. but i would imagine that this is the sort of thing that we will actually hear more about from at least some groups that are going to want to press to check if it is legal. >> bill: on the other hand, if he had stayed around to sign it, he might have had to do so with john boehner standing alongside of him. >> risk it. go with the auto pen. >> leave the family waiting in hawaii for him. i know they were in love with it. >> bill: i gotta ask you also, the president when you look at this package that we finally got, it's a far cry from what the president did say he would settle for right?

he did say for two things. one, i only want -- i want to demand a comprehensive package right, that includes the debt ceiling. so we would not get back into this mess a month or so from now. we didn't get that comprehensive package. so they had to really decide a small package rather than the big one correct? >> definitely. it is pretty far from a comprehensive package by any measure. but what -- the biggest problem the biggest concession that they seem to have had to have made here was that the debt ceiling was not part of the deal. which means that we're going to come back to this in a couple of months and mitch mcconnell was able to make sure that the sequester extension was delayed only two months so it is actually part of the same deadline. and they've gone into it without the issue of tax cuts being

there to press the congressional republicans. >> bill: right. so they will not have the leverage of the automatic tax cuts when they -- when it's time to negotiate on the debt ceiling. >> right. they also want to have the kind of -- they also won't have the kind of attention the fiscal cliff was getting the end of the year and such a big disaster coming, that they were talking about -- that really changes the game a lot and it seems pretty clear from what mitch mcconnell and others among the senate republicans and their aides are talking about here, that they -- that was not a mistake. they went into that thinking okay, the president has basically backed us up against a wall. we can't let the fiscal cliff happen. we can't let the tax issue be lost. but we can come back and do much

more. >> bill: so let me ask you a quick -- when the president says -- as he said, i'm going to refuse to negotiate on the debt ceiling. i'm not going to get into any back and forth over the debt ceiling. can he really hold to that promise? >> that seems like a promise that he cannot hold to. i think the congressional republicans probably agreed to that statement with the response of you think so? because we think different. >> bill: i read it the same way. i admire the president's determination here but i think the reality is he's going to have to negotiate when it comes to that and the republicans are going to come back with the spending cuts that they want. edward isaac, thank you for joining us. enjoy your work. deputy white house editor for politico edward isaac dovere. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: rebecca berg from "buzzfeed" joins us in the next hour here of the "full court press." on chris christie, robert e-mails in seems to me it would be worth while for democrats to court governor christie and try to win him over. republicans wouldn't miss him. they have no room for compassionate people in their party. that's for sure. richard maxwell says hey bill, i'm 73 years young. i don't remember such vitriol

between two major government parties. are we still a united country? republicans seem to be the most intractable. i swear they're biased against our president and showing it more and more every day. jerry johnson tox talking about the cuts for the pentagon. do we really need 6700 bases oversee -- 700 bases overseas. since drones are doing most of the work today do we need more planes and pilots? all good questions jerry johnson. cuts to the pentagon have to be on the table as well as cuts to domestic programs. second hour is coming up. stay with us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>> bill: good mornings friends and neighbors. welcome to the "full court press" this thursday morning january 3rd. hey, you're looking good. it is good to you have on board as t complete recovery expected. there is a storm of outrage over john boehner's decision to delay any special funding for the victims of hurricane sandy. the homeowners and the governors in new york and new jersey are pissed as well they should be. and get ready for the next big storm after the ugly battle over the fiscal cliff here in washington, d.c. the next congress will be sworn in today and gearing up for the -- even uglier battle over the debt ceiling coming up in

just a month or so. lots to talk about. lots you're going to want to call about. first, we'll take a little time out to get the latest. today's current news update, lisa ferguson's got it out in los angeles. hi lisa, good morning. >> hey bill, good morning everyone. one person in particular is definitely gearing up for the next fiscal fight and that's mitch mcconnell. he wrote in his yahoo news op-ed the debate starts today. president obama should be ready for a battle over government spending and the debt limit. mcconnell said the new legislation averting the fiscal cliff is the last word on taxes. our current debt ceiling is just shy of $16.4 trillion and tim geithner says we have already reached that level as far as federal borrowing goes. that leaves two months before congress will need to vote on raising the limit. the two chambers will have to deal with the upcoming mini

cliffs thanks to automatic spending cuts that got delayed in march. that will bring out the same partisanship shown during the fiscal cliff debates. a new congress takes office today in one of their first orders of business is addressing an aid package for hurricane sandy. now, as bill mentioned earlier a lot of anger and criticism going toward john boehner right now for scrapping the vote that would have improved $60 billion for victims and for future storm defenses. lawmakers are only considering $9 billion in immediate aid. they'll take that one to a vote tomorrow. they will not dealing with the remaining $51 billion balance until january 15th. compare that with hurricane katrina, congress doled out $60 billion within ten days. we'll be right back. right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you

fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

>> announcer: broadcast, across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill pritz show. >> bill: president obama signs the fiscal cliff legislation. long distance, by auto pen. didn't know you could do that. might as well stay in hawaii. what do you say? hello, hello hello and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv and on your local progressive talk radio station this thursday morning january 3rd. good to see you today. welcome, welcome welcome. we've got lots and lots to talk about today. secretary of state hillary clinton out of the hospital. number one. number two outrage and uproar, protest over john boehner's decision to delay funding for the victims of hurricane sandy. governor cuomo governor christie are pissed. they should be. they've let it be known and john

boehner has caved in a little bit. still won't do it in this session of congress when the help is needed. the new congress sworn in today. 113th congress. their first priority is going to be yet another battle. this time, not over the fiscal cliff but over the debt ceiling and it is probably going to be uglier than the last one. we'll try to cover all of that in the next couple of hours we've got together here today and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. look forward to your comments on twitter at bpshow. facebook.com/billpressshow. here we are. team press. present and accounted for this morning. >> indeed. >> bill: peter ogborn and dan henning. >> happy thursday. >> good morning. >> bill: we're well into 2013. >> we are. >> bill: second work dave the new year. we're humming with phil backert on the phones and cyprian

bowlding on the cameras our videographer extraordinaire. we know what you want to know. we know what your first question is. we will get right to it. by going to the -- sorry front page of "the new york times." breaking news today. headline, al jazeera seeks a u.s. voice where gore failed. it was announced late yesterday that al jazeera has bought current tv. the deal was completed yesterday and signed yesterday. you have lot of questions about that. so do we! guess what! but we don't have any answers so here's what we want you to know the news. we can't tell you what it means. we direct you to everything we know about it.

it is on our web site at billpressshow.com. number one the statement that current tv put out yesterday. number two statement from joel hyatt, the vice president the cofounder of current tv. that's also out there on our social network. we've also linked to "the new york times" article by brian stelter. in addition to that, as we learn more information, we'll let you know. follow us on twitter at bpshow. >> that is the best way to keep up with us. >> bill: as soon as we know what it means for all of us and for me and jennifer granholm and stephanie miller we'll let you know. >> we'll tell you everything we know. >> bill: right now it ain't much. >> for those of you that used to watch time-warner cable. >> bill: time-warner cable has

already dropped it. they didn't approve of the new deal. they dropped it. we're hearing that from a lot of you. what can time-warner -- former time-warner viewers do? >> right now, you can stream us online. some people already streaming us. you can find out at "bill press show." if you're following us on twitter at bpshow, there are links there to download various apps. there's and i heart radio app. if you had time-warner cable you can't watch us anymore there are ways to listen to us now. so there are links there. you can click on it. download it directly to your phone and get us wherever you go. >> bill: you can also raise hell with time-warner. >> you can also raise hell with time-warner if you're in the fighting spirit. >> bill: sometimes it works. indeed. a little bit of sad news yesterday. the loss of a -- one of america's great voices. the singer patty page dead at

the age of 85. known mainly for this song which was the rage of the '50s. ♪ i was dancing with my darling ♪ ♪ to the tennessee waltz ♪ ♪ when an old friend ♪ >> bill: she was known at the time the singing rage, miss patty page. >> rage? not the word i would use. >> bill: but you know, when you hear that music, it just sounds so old-fashioned, doesn't it? >> it really does. >> bill: seriously. i saw on the news -- >> it almost sounds like parody. >> bill: this was 13 weeks number one hit in the united states. >> no kidding! good grief. that's amazing. >> bill: the tennessee waltz and how much is that doggy in the window. >> that's definitely another age. >> bill: but she performed well. she was scheduled -- she won a

grammy and was scheduled next month to get the lifelong -- or lifetime grammy award which i'm sure they'll give her now posthumously. we have a lot to get into. we'll get there with the help of "buzzfeed." rebecca burg joining us later in this hour. congresswoman jackie speier from california and one of the patriotic millionaires to give us his take on having to pay more taxes after the fiscal cliff legislation has been signed. charlie fink in studio with us as well. and did the president do the right thing in making a smaller deal, a lot smaller deal than he had originally promised? we'll get into that but first... >> other headlines making news on this thursday. we now know how harry reid keeps the fire burning in the fireplace in his capitol hill office with legislative proposals as fuel. politico reports the majority leader threw one stack of fiscal cliff concessions that he got from the president last weekend

right into his fireplace and watched them burn. he actually tends to do this a lot instead of using a shredder or a recycling. doesn't necessarily mean he didn't like he was reading. more of a way of stoking the fire. >> if he didn't like what he was reading, he certainly gets a lot of enjoyment out of doing that. >> bill: i think the displeasure had something to do with it. >> out in hollywood justin bieber getting a little political yesterday after a paparazzi photographer died trying to snap a photo of him while standing in traffic after following his car which he wasn't even driving at the time. the pop star calling on lawmakers to bring up meaningful legislation to protect the lives and safety of celebrities cops, innocent public bystanders and the photographers but bieber did not mention any specifics as to what he thinks should be done. >> bill: that was tragic but at the same time, paparazzi do some really dumb ass stuff. >> all the time. >> bill: all the time. and this is like bound to

happen. >> absolutely. the shape of the kit kat bar is now officially protected. nestle has won a trademark lawsuit against rival candy maker cadbury which tried to claim that nestle could not trademark the kit kat's four bar structure because it was too generic of a product. "the huffington post" reports the court disagreed. the four bars are now for kit kat bars only. >> bill: that's strange that the shape of a bar actually a candy bar, could be protected that way. >> cadbury was trying to put out different chocolate bars in four packs as well. >> i don't think the kit kat bar is that iconic. the four break off -- >> bill: i would think the taste of the chocolate and candy is more important than the shape of the bar. >> i agree. obviously not the patent judge. >> bill: thank you dan indeed. the big question which more and more people are asking today is

whether or not just one final take -- look at this fiscal cliff or fiscal fix, whether or not the deal of the president finally agreed to was worth doing or whether he should have held out for more or even rejected a deal that was not as big and as comprehensive as he said. the president said several times, i want a big deal. i want a comprehensive deal. well look, love your take on this at 1-866-55-press. there were some good things about this final agreement. no doubt about it. it's good that tax cuts did go up for at least the top 1.5% of americans if not all of the top 2%. it's good that unemployment insurance was extended. it's good that -- there's actually hidden in here an extension of the tax break for alternative energy, tax loophole if you will for alternative energy at least for

one more year, it's extended. it is good there were no cuts to social security. no cuts to medicare which republicans wanted. none of those included in this final deal. it's -- there's some bad parts of it, too. it is bad i think that income up to $450,000 per couple remain subject to the -- will continue to enjoy the bush tax cuts. let's not kid ourselves. people making $450,000, even people making $250,000 are not middle class americans. median income this country is $50,000. that's much too high. and it's not good that the payroll tax holiday ends. we knew it would some day but right now is not the time to be socking 100% of working americans with a higher payroll tax. so some good and bad parts but the worst parts of it is that this is such a temporary fix. because not included in this deal is what the president

insisted on. he said he wanted a big deal again. a comprehensive deal which means he would only entertain a deal that included some resolution of the debt ceiling so we didn't have to fight the battle again which included some solution of what we're going to do about the looming sequester cuts. the trillion dollars across the board, half in the pentagon and half in domestic programs. he said that all had to be part of the package. well, they're not included. which means that we're going to be right back in the fight right back in the mix right back in the soup at the end of january, beginning of february. on both of those the sequester is delayed for two months and the debt ceiling fight comes up. they might be able to extend it to march but technically, it comes up at the end of january. so the question then is we all have to ask ourselves did the president do the right thing by taking a small deal rather than

the big deal? or should he have held out and said i'm going to get this -- everything i want or no deal. let's go over the fiscal cliff and you guys are going to be held responsible. 1-866-55-press. liberals and progressives are split on this. bernie sanders and i usually follow and probably do in this case too bernie sanders as progressive as they come in the united states congress, bernie sanders said yesterday look, this is not a perfect deal by any means but voting for this, which he did voting for this, was more important was important. it was better to vote for this he said than to allow the country to go over the cliff and to allow the economy to collapse and to accept what might happen to the markets and to the loss of our credit rating. so that leading liberal said we ought to go -- president did the right thing. tom harkin, another leading liberal said the president did

the wrong thing. should not have accepted this small deal and voted against it. what do you say? make a big mistake here? or do the right thing. 1-866-55-press. we're not out of the woods. with very one or two more battles that will be even uglier than the last one coming up. let's talk about it here on the "full court press" this thursday morning. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. that's why we bring together natural ingredients, like dark chocolate with toasted oats, converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not

bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

nounce this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: rebecca berg from "buzzfeed" following congress for "buzzfeed" in studio with us in the next segment. we're talking now about a lot of questions being raised whether president obama should have accepted a smaller deal than he originally demanded. part of the price of that is that we're going to be fighting the same old fight without the leverage by the way of the automatic bush tax cuts expiring in the next round of negotiations which might make it even harder to hold off spending cuts for cuts to social security and medicare. was it worth it. 1-866-55-press. peter, what's on the -- on the networks? >> out there on twitter, we're tweeting at bpshow. no matter what, we'll keep tweeting there and take your comments. aria says what will help the average american -- the average american people in the long run?

this is what's confusing for an average person like me and wheezy says -- >> bill: that's a good question. i don't know the answer to that question. >> i don't know if we have the time to break it down right here, right now but that's what people care about. that's what they really care about. what does it mean to me in the long run. >> bill: one thing it means is your taxes will go up $1,000 this year because of the payroll tax. it also means that if you're under $250,000 or $450,000, you're going to continue to get on your income tax the same rate for the last ten years. >> on that $400,000 number, wheezy says with the new middle class at $400,000, it is time to raise the social security level to $400,000. >> bill: yeah. that will fix social security forever. anthony is out in denver, colorado. what do you say? good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. how you doing? >> bill: good. happy new year. >> caller: thank you. same to you. i think obama should have held out -- >> bill: for more? >> caller: yes, sir. should have waited for a bigger

deal to get exactly what he wanted, put the pressure on the house republicans to make them accountable. i don't think there was such a thing as a metaphorically so to speak. i think the i.r.s. should have prolongated the effect of the tax rates while the house and senate worked out obama's deal. we have elections that represent -- representatives have elections coming up. it really could have showed some of the type of people that are in the house you know, stagnating and holding up a lot of our government's capabilities just like they didn't do for the sandy relief. there was a lot of people that didn't vote for that. it showed a lot of their true colors and those people have to be accountable on election day. >> bill: unfortunately anthony, the elections don't come up for another two years and america's memory is too short. look i -- i agree with you. the president is -- he had all

of the leverage, all of the leverage and all of the power right now with the expiration of the bush tax cuts to get the bigger deal. and that's not going to be around the next time. so i think in a sense he gave away his advantage this time too quickly. he could have -- he could have held out and gotten a lot more. i believe. beverly out in st. david illinois. beverly, what do you say? >> caller: good morning and happy new year to all of you. >> bill: and to you, thank you. >> caller: hey, i was just listening to c-span for a couple of minutes and the managing editor of the hill was reporting to the woman on the washington journal that the white house and this was coming from a source that was credible in the white house, senior person, stating that they were working -- the white house was working a plan to work around the congress, that there wouldn't be a debt

ceiling standoff. >> bill: if they can do that, then more power to them, beverly. you know the white house may be working on that, it doesn't mean they'll be able to pull it off. >> caller: well, no, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't either. i think this man is playing three-dimensional chess. he is a practicing nottist. he's proven that he can divide the republican party. >> bill: right. well listen, if the president can do that, if he can pull that off and raise the debt ceiling without congress then more power to him. if he can, he will. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." every day presents another exciting issue. from financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. there are real issues here.

having been a governor, i know that trade-offs are tough. things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. i want our viewer to understand why things have happened. at the end of the show, you know what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, what's going to happen tomorrow.

>> bill: "full court press" coming to you live across this great land of ours and coming out to you on your local progressive talk radio station and on current tv. any questions about current tv being purchased by al jazeera, don't ask us. we don't know. we have a lot of questions too. but we put everything we know up on our web site for you. the statement by joel hyatt the cofounder and vice president al gore with current tv. we tweeted it out right at bpshow on facebook. as well as a statement put out by current tv yesterday evening. and a link to the front page story in this morning's "new

york times." you read those three, will you know everything that we will know. "full court press" brought to you today by afscme, the largest public employee and healthcare worker's union in the entire country under president lee saunders. for more information, check out their web site at afscme.org. a new congress sworn in today. the 113th congress. this is what -- this is what is considered the 4th of july for people like rebecca berg who cover the congress for "buzzfeed." rebecca, good to see you this morning. thank you. >> bill: this is the day you live for right? >> something like that sure. i wouldn't call it the 4th of july. maybe valentine's day.

>> bill: we talked a lot about the fiscal cliff. i want to get into that with you and what you think some of the good parts and bad parts of it are, the legislation which by the way, the president has signed, he did it by auto pen. >> that's the way to sign a bill, i think. >> nide he to -- i need to get me one of those auto pens. >> bill: if you can on the golf course in hawaii and signing a bill at the same time, that's pretty great. let's talk about something that didn't happen. hurricane relief for the victims of hurricane sandy. the house promised they would vote on it before they adjourn. what happened? >> most people in the house thought they were going to vote for it right after they voted on the fiscal cliff. >> bill: it was scheduled. eric can't her promised it. >> eric cantor really wanted this to happen. he had been a huge advocate for this aid all along. interestingly, at the last

minute, after eric cantor voted against the fiscal cliff deal that speaker boehner supported speaker boehner decided to poll the vote on -- pull the vote on the sandy bill which was like eric cantor's baby, legislatively. it was a really personal vendetta sort of thing. >> bill: oh. i hadn't heard that before. you think this was a spat between boehner and -- >> it was a bit of a spat. >> bill: a power play on boehner's part saying cantor, you vote against me, i'll fix you. >> a little bit, yes. >> this is like the mafia. straight up mafia. it really is. >> i suppose they figured they would deal with it. in a couple of days they'll be voting on it. later this week and then some more next week. >> bill: before we get to that so there are other theories that maybe it happened because new york and new jersey are both blue states and the republicans said who cares about them. >> that's not a theory i've really heard especially because you know, speaker boehner spoke

with the delegations yesterday and -- >> bill: what about the fact that chris christie snubbed mitt romney and praised president obama that this was the way of getting even with chris christie? >> i haven't heard that theory either. i think this was really just internal politics. the vote, i think would have happened if not for the fiscal cliff. >> bill: the palace intrigue may be in fact, dan that first clip we had from governor chris christie. he suggested that as well yesterday, in his news conference. >> americans are tired of the prowess intrigue and political partisanship of this congress which places one upsmanship ahead of the interests of these people who sent them to washington, d.c. in the first place. >> bill: shame on boehner for letting his personal peak have more importance than relief to

the people of new york and new jersey, particularly in connecticut who need that help. >> sure. i think from that clip that you played, you can tell that chris christie kind of knew what was going on as well. he's been in close touch with eric cantor throughout the entire process. >> bill: boehner called everybody and says okay, okay, okay, i'll make up for it. but he still could have scheduled a vote in this congress. he still chose not to. he said instead, gale to the next congress. friday, we're going to vote for some $9 million in flood insurance. then maybe on january 15, we'll have another vote for $51 million. we'll get back up to the $60 million. but that's not a guarantee right? >> in this congress, certainly nothing is guaranteed. >> bill: no. >> at least i can't predict why that would change especially because of the backlash against speaker boehner. >> bill: do you think the tea partiers care? >> that's a good question. i don't know. i don't know. i think the more conservative

republicans are -- >> bill: plus, as governor christie and governor andrew cuomo pointed out yesterday it is still two more week delay. for the people who are there really suffering and still trying to get back in their homes and tries to get the help that they need and they run out of money two weeks is a long time. six times -- it's taken six times longer than it did to get help to the people from katrina. >> i think chris christie said yesterday we're at 66 days. >> 66 days. if it took, you know, ten days to get to katrina relief, it will be another two weeks. it is eight times as long. >> bill: yeah. which is just certainly unfair to anybody but certainly unfair to people who have been very, very generous in helping others in time of need, another point that chris christie made yesterday. so on the fiscal cliff which did pass president obama has said you know, i want a big deal.

i want a comprehensive deal. i don't want a mickey mouse thing. i don't want to go step by step. i want it all in one package where we take care of the fiscal cliff. and the debt ceiling. and the sequester. all at one time. >> yes. wouldn't that have been amazing. >> bill: we didn't get close to that. >> no, we really didn't at all. the sequester was only put off for two months. we'll be dealing with that again shortly. the debt ceiling of course, we'll have to deal with in february or march. then we also have this continuing resolution coming up to fund the government. so it's going to be like this for the foreseeable future. it is going to be one crisis after the other. >> bill: is there any hope, should americans have any hope that the next congress will be anymore productive than the last one? >> unfortunately, i don't think that will be the case because within the house at least you have more conservative republicans coming in. there's no indication that the

caucus will get any less conservative among republicans in the house. and ideologically they really believe in what they're pushing. it isn't that they're doing this for any political reason. and then when they go home to their home districts, it is like they're preaching to the choir. their constituents believe in what they're doing and don't really see the effect that it has on the larger congress and the laws that it produces. so i don't really see their ideology changing because of that. i'm not sure really where this ends. >> bill: ultimately, these people are going home, you touch on it. they're going home to make sure all of our listeners and viewers understand, they're going home to districts that have been drawn with such an extreme political makeup that they are tea party districts in effect. these are districts drawn by republican legislatures, signed by republican governors that basically perpetuate the tea party in these districts right?

>> absolutely. >> bill: they fit the district. it will be almost impossible to change. >> it really is in effect, redistricting. >> bill: the question, peter i think then raises, is it possible to govern anymore with this makeup of this congress, to get anything done? i think we're going to be in the same battles every -- continuing battles for the next two years. >> i don't see it getting any better. i really don't. >> bill: how can it get any better with the same old clowns in charge. particularly in the house. the senate does have a tendency when push comes to shove right that they can get their stuff together and get something done. >> also look what it took to get the senate to get something done. >> bill: true. at least they do get this. they got there. they passed the sandy legislation. they passed legislation giving 98% of americans a tax cut. then they pass legislation for the fiscal cliff. >> people like mitch mcconnell

as we've seen in this fiscal cliff deal and the way he negotiated with joe biden, he has a respect for the old school negotiating style that you saw in government. it is really starting to disappear. >> i think you just made bill turn green when you said people like mitch mcconnell. >> bill: i don't like mitch mcconnell. no, not at all. i'll give him this much credit. when he makes a deal, he doesn't walk away from it the way john boehner does. the way john boehner has done every time. i think -- >> owl though this time -- although, this time, he took a very irregular step of voting for this fiscal cliff deal. >> bill: john boehner. true. i think, for president obama to spend one more minute, one minute talking with john boehner is just a total colossal waste of time. >> it sounds like that might not happen. it sounds like john boehner is finished negotiating with obama as well. >> bill: i think it is the other way around.

rebecca berg is with us here. she covers congress for "buzzfeed." buzzfeed.com. so should the president have accepted this deal? 1-866-55-press. and are you satisfied with john boehner's late minute compromise on the relief to hurricane sandy? >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv.

>> bill: 12 minutes before the top of the hour. congresswoman jackie speier, returning member of congress, will be in studio with us at the top of the next hour. then we'll be joined by one of the patriotic millionaires, that's what they call themselves, charlie fink from northern virginia. patriotic millionaires saying we've been very blessed. we've made a lot of money and we are more than willing to pay higher taxes. and they will under the fiscal cliff legislation. rebecca berg from "buzzfeed" is in studio with us. peter, what's going on? >> talking about the new congress coming back into town. one person making a return is senator mark kirk from illinois. he had a stroke. >> bill: about a year ago. >> he's returning to work. he's going to climb back up the capitol steps. >> bill: he said he was going to walk back up the capital steps. >> while he was in the hospital, he was visited by three angels that asked him to come with him

and -- >> bill: three angels. john boehner mitch mcconnell and -- >> no. albert pujols, josh hamilton and -- no. three angels showed up and said come with me. he chose to return to congress instead. you make your own joke there. >> bill: whoa. he was given the option. heaven or hell. >> there you go! >> bill: he chose hell. >> he chose hell. >> we all make our choices. >> bill: what about this new congress? elizabeth warren. >> yeah. elizabeth warren will already be the senior senator from massachusetts. >> bill: oh, that's right. john kerry is till there. he's not out yet. but she will soon. tammy baldwin from wisconsin. patrick murphy. i will be at his reception later today. new congressman from florida

replacing allen west. there will be an election for speaker of the house. >> there will be. >> bill: that happens in the entire house. not just in the republican caucus right? >> it does, right. >> bill: nancy pelosi will be the democratic candidate. >> correct. >> bill: john boehner will be the republican candidate. will there be another republican candidate? >> there won't be another republican candidate per se. >> bill: nobody's going to challenge him? >> as they vote, they're allowed to vote for whomever they would like. so there will certainly be, i would predict some protest votes but i talked to a very well-placed conservative source yesterday who told me there hasn't been any chatter about -- or coalesceance around any conservative to boehner. that's a good indicator he will be safe today. >> bill: eric cantor won't try for it. paul ryan won't try for it.

>> no. anyone who is a rising star of their caliber sees that boehner isn't going to be around for more than three or four more years so for them, it is much wiser to just stick around, they're both very young and they would have a really easy path to the speakership in a couple of years. >> bill: let's say hello to jeff out in columbus, ohio. good morning. >> morning. i just had a question -- how much higher does the debt ceiling need to go? i don't understand why we need to keep paying people to sit at home on unemployment. why we need to give -- i understand people need help in a tragedy like sandy. i understand that. and as tea party member, i appreciate that kind of help for people. but for people to sit at home and go well, you know, i wanted to go to work today but i'm not liking work. >> bill: you know, jeff, with all due respect that's a bunch

of crap. >> so many people think that. >> bill: so many people think that, what the hell, i can get my unemployment check. my $20 this week and why go to work. that's not what it's like. look. let me tell you something. a lot of people don't understand this. jeff obviously doesn't. the debt ceiling is not taking on more money to do more stuff. the debt ceiling is paying our freaking bills right? >> exactly. exactly. these are debts we've already incurred. if you want to fix the underlying spending problem the debt ceiling is just a symptom of the problem. it is not the actual problem. >> bill: to build on your point, these are obligations that congress, including republicans, have already voted for, right? these are like all of the farm subsidies, all of the subsidies to the oil companies, all of those things -- all of those tax cuts for the wealthiest of americans. all of these wars, right that republicans all voted for they

cost money. and raising the debt ceiling means we're going to pay our bills. it is just like when your credit card bill comes at the end of the month, you can't say i changed my mind, i enjoyed all of those meals out right but i'm not going to pay for them now. we have an obligation to pay for them. that's what it is all about. jeff, do a little homework. you would think that tea party people right would know their stuff. >> you would hope so. >> bill: you would hope so. >> you know what though, it was a rough day at work today. i don't think i'm going to come in tomorrow. if that's the mentality that those people have. >> bill: well don't but also don't show up for your paycheck. hey, rebecca nice to see you today. have a good day. with the new congress. tell us all about it the next time we see you. >> i will. >> bill: buzzfeed.com. great site. they do great work. check them out. i will be back and tell you about the president's very, very busy day today.

[ laughter ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> bill: we'll have jackie speier here in studio with us and also in studio, charlie fink, one of the leaders of the patriotic millionaires who have been lobbying congress, begging pleading to pay higher taxes and they're going to get to do so under the fiscal cliff agreement. as far as the president's

schedule today there's only one word for it. fore! you know it. hasn't been announced yet but i'll bet he'll do a workout this morning as he did yesterday and don't be surprised if he's back on the golf course with some friends in hawaii. he's rejoined his family to complete his vacation and of course, for the white house announcing yesterday that the first family will stay in honolulu through saturday, january 5 and then heading back here to washington. new congress sworn in today. we'll talk to jackie speier about it next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ]

>> bill: good morning, fellow americans and welcome to the "full court press." it's thursday, january 3rd. how about it. you're watching current tv and we will start the day -- start your day by bringing you all of the news of the day. wherever it happens to be here in washington, d.c., around the country or around the globe. several things we're following this morning. secretary of state hillary clinton out of the hospital. home to complete and continue her recovery. here in washington, d.c., a lot of uproar over speaker john boehner's refusal to allow a vote for hurricane relief for the victims of hurricane sandy. and also the new congress sworn in today and they're already gearing up for the next battle. you thought the fiscal cliff battle was ugly, wait until you see the battle over the debt ceiling. we'll get into that and a whole

lot more starting off with congresswoman jackie speier. but first, here's the latest, today's current news update, lisa ferguson's got it out in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. welcome back. >> thank you bill. good morning everyone. a new congress does get sworn in today and they do have a huge list of things to tackle. that includes the debt ceiling and an aid package for hurricane sandy. but one of their main goals right now has nothing to do with legislation. it is all about fund-raising. "usa today" analysis shows out of the 82 incoming house freshmen, more than 40% have more debt than they have cash to pay it. more than two dozen new congressmen and women owe more than $100,000. that means they're holding fund-raising receptions and bombarding their supporters for money. all at the same time that they're trying to hire new staff and get familiar with their new positions at the capitol. in the eyes of tax and lobbyists, that leaves the new congress members ripe for the

picking. they'll offer to help pay off debt in exchange for policy favors on everything from taxes to environmental regulations. next up for president obama is a new push on his domestic policy agenda. administration official says the president plans on moving full steam ahead this month on both immigration reform and gun control. that timeframe seems to clash a bit with the looming debt ceiling but the aide says the president will not let that take the momentum out of his priorities. it is still unclear exactly what type of immigration the white house plans on pushing. but aides say we could see a bill by march and possibly a vote by june. more bill after the break. we'll be right back. iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv

audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: what do you know? president obama signed the fiscal cliff legislation from hawaii by auto pen. i think that shows what he thinks about it. good morning everybody. great to see you today. it is thursday, january 3rd. this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live coast-to-coast from our studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. booming out to you live on your progressive -- local progressive talk radio station and on current tv. good to see you today and good to welcome to the studio today a good friend of the program congresswoman jacki spee from california. -- jackie speier from california. good to see you. we have peter ogborn and dan henning. >> good morning. >> bill: with us on the phones, phil backert and keeping us live, looking good -- well, on the cameras sometimes look good, cyprian bowlding.

good to see you all this morning. we know the first question that you have, you have a lot of questions. so do we. we don't have any answers. yes, it is true. al jazeera has purchased current tv. the deal was completed yesterday. it was signed yesterday. it was announced yesterday. that's all we know. and we will tell you all we know and we've made it possible for you to find out the facts of the deal by going to our web site at billpressshow.com or follow us on twitter at bpshow where we have posted the statement put out by current tv. the statement put out by joel hyatt, the cofounder of current tv with vice president al gore and the article on the front page of "the new york times" this morning by brian stelter with the headline "alza rear ra seeks -- al jazeera seeks a u.s. voice where gore failed." that's the article. that's all we know, peter

right? >> that's all we know. >> bill: as we know more, we'll tell you on twitter. best way to find out what happens from here on is to follow us on twitter at bpshow. >> absolutely. we're also giving out some helpful links for those of you that were watching on time-warner cable they've already taken the feed down. you can continue to listen. we've got some apps that can help you out and some links there. bpshow at bpshow on twitter. go find us there. >> bill: that's all we know. >> that's all we know. >> bill: don't know much more than you do. congresswoman, today is a big day. you will be sworn in as members of the 113th congress. >> that's right. >> bill: one member who will not be returning sadly is congressman barney frank from massachusetts. >> by choice. >> bill: right. one of the most colorful members of congress. >> smart too. >> bill: yes and the smartest. >> his i.q. has probably dropped a few points. >> bill: he was asked by a reporter whether his fellow members of congress are as smart as he is.

here's barney's response. >> what i have found is on the whole, members of congress are smarter than average. here's the deal. it is not an indication -- this isn't partisan. ordinarily, they get elect -- to get elected to congress takes a certain amount of energy and creative. when you get one of the elections where one party wins overwhelmingly, it tends to sweep in some thoughts -- >> bill: the class of 2010, they're not as smart as the rest. of course he's referring to the tea partiers. >> of course. there's also a cute line about how barney has a -- a bad eq and "gq." his i.q. is startling high. >> bill: certainly the "gq." doesn't rate very high on that. >> he doesn't care. >> bill: boy there's so much going on this week. i have to ask you as a friend, are you -- were you sometimes

embarrassed this week to be a member of this congress? >> you didn't see my tweet the night that everyone went home, new year's eve at 6:30 when we still had the fiscal cliff to deal with. i was sitting in my office and i said you know, as a little girl growing up, i was told you don't go home until you finish your job. but he basically -- the speaker -- adjourned, they went home to toast the new year when we hadn't finished our work. i was pretty disgusted. >> bill: i'm sure you were. the next night, you went home. the fiscal cliff i'm going to get to that. you went home without finishing another important piece of work. >> right. that was, of course, the aid financial aid for the victims of sandy. and how can you -- when people are suffering as they have for months now. not do our work. it was all about optics. that's what everyone needs to appreciate. this is all about optics.

>> bill: i don't understand. >> the speaker didn't want to then pass billions of dollars of aid that wasn't paid for for sandy relief after they had just bludgeoned everyone about the fact that we were about to go over the fiscal cliff and we had all of the spending cuts that should have been imposed that weren't. but also when you think about it, it was really an easy vote for everyone in the congress because we were basically giving a tax cut permanently that was a tax holiday. giving it permanently to 99% of the american people. they couldn't bring themselves to do it because they were more concerned about their political future than they were about making sure the country didn't go into an economic morass because they were concerned about more conservative republicans running against them in republican primaries. that's all this was about. they had the blessings of grover norquist that this was not --

what you see is not really a tax increase. they didn't have to worry about their pledges. but it was really about their next election. >> bill: it really comes down to a question of priorities, doesn't it? >> it is more than priorities, bill. it is -- it is fundamental. what are you here for? what are you here for? are you here to just guarantee that you're re-elected? and take cautious votes because you want to make sure that you're protecting your personal flank or are you interested in the american people's flank? >> bill: well here's the question then. that's not true of all republicans but it seems -- it is certainly true of those who are driving the train right now in that republican caucus. given that and that those districts, where they came from are unlikely to change, is it even possible to govern these days? >> i think we have to govern. we don't have a choice. but it makes it that much more difficult because this fiasco we've just gone through is going to be repeated. we're going to lurch forward

from one crisis to another into the foreseeable future and we've got three more coming up within the next few months. >> bill: yeah. let's talk about those. the president did say originally, i want a comprehensive deal, right meaning i don't want to have to nickel and dime this. i don't want to have to refight this battle in another month or two months, right. but we're going to have to because the comprehensive deal he wanted would have done something about the debt ceiling, resolved that and the sequester. neither one of those are part of this deal. one comes up in february march whatever, the debt ceiling then the sequester -- >> then the continuing resolution. >> bill: that's right. so there are three battles coming up. each one of them is going to be as difficult? >> well, because the expectation is and i think we should assume that republicans will dig in their heels. they'll send us over the cliff like they did when we had the debt ceiling that had to be

increased back in 2011, summer of 2011. we saw what happened to the market. we saw what happened to our bonds and this time, they're not going to be nearly as kind in terms of those that are rating us. and all of a sudden, it will have a profound impact and again, debt ceiling is all about paying your credit card. we each get credit card, we buy things on credit. each month we get a statement we're supposed to pay it. this is like basically i'm not going to pay it. we can't do that. >> bill: so you voted for this deal. why? >> because it protects those who are unemployed today. it protects those who are low and middle income in terms of child care tax credits in terms of the tuition credits for college students of families that are low and middle income. it does protect those under $250,000. unfortunately, it went much farther than that. i'm one of those who would basically say that we should

have continued this tax holiday for those making under $250,000 for a period of time for us to come out of the economic recession. but to somehow put these tax cuts in as permanent tax cuts, i think is defying what we are as americans in terms of wanting to protect those on medicare and social security and medicaid. because we're running out out of areas of which to cut without going to the bone of some of the programs that are truly safety nets. >> bill: and even though there are no cuts to social security or medicare, good for the president holding out on that. in this -- >> exactly. >> bill: in this deal, right you know that they're going to come back with a vengeance republicans will and demand those as a price for raising the debt ceiling correct? >> absolutely. the president already put a card on the table for the chain cpi

which is really much more deleterious than people have been led to believe in terms of how much money is being taken out of senior citizens social security checks. it is going to have a profound impact. so we're going to protect those on the higher end of the financial scale and stick it to those on the lower end. there are things we have to do. believe me. medicare is way too expensive. it is one of the last bastians of fee for service. if you look virtually anywhere in california, it is capitated. physicians are paid on a monthly basis regardless of what kind of services they provide to a member. but fee for service and medicare is how we're still operating. you can't do that moving into the future. prescription drug benefit, how can we not demand a discount from the pharmaceutical companies in terms of part d? those are things that we can have -- we could take to the table that would have a serious

beneficial impact that would not be harming the care to seniors. >> bill: so it sounds like you're saying, congresswoman, we didn't go over the cliff this time but we might go over it in a couple of months, right if we come to lager heads again. the president has said i'm not -- this time, i'm not going to negotiate the debt ceiling. it is going to happen or it's not. no back and forth on it. can we possibly hold to that, do you believe? >> i think he has to. i was really very happy to hear him come out so strongly. he has really grown into his job. he's become a much better negotiator although i probably would have negotiated this slightly differently. but i think making that statement now drawing his line in the sand is very, very important. because the republicans need some cold water splashed on them in terms of how far they think they can go. i think governor christie was very powerful yesterday when he

really -- you know, talked about the kind of prowess intrigue that goes on in the capitol. it is a bunch of kids playing in the sandbox throwing sand at each other that really needs to cease. we need to get people coming to the table and doing what's right and stop trying to make brownie points here and there without thinking about the greater good of the american people. >> bill: it looked like there was a lot of prowess intrigue on the sandy decision where, as one of our reporters earlier pointed out, john boehner has the fiscal cliff thing. he votes for it. eric cantor votes against it. it is eric cantor's -- >> and kevin mccarthy -- >> bill: it was eric cantor's baby to have the sandy vote and john boehner said you vote against me on this i won't give you this vote. they're playing games. as you point out, there are real people, millions of them who are really suffering and need the help to get back in their homes right? and this stuff is -- >> you saw how fast they turned -- that speaker boehner

turned it around after he got such blowback from governor christie and others. >> bill: if we can -- i know you have to go because you've got an important day starting with your own swearing in, if we can get over this fiscal hump, what are some of the other issues that you believe this 113th congress, with the president, will be able to take up this year? immigration reform? or what do you see? >> i think immigration reform is a huge priority for the democrats and for the president. and i think the republicans want to come to the table because they lost everyone except the old, white males. people like you bill. >> bill: i'm no republican! i'm an exception! [ laughter ] >> so i think that's huge. i don't think they'll come to the table with the kinds of reforms that i think those who have been disenfranchised are looking for. they're going to want to give green cards to people but never give them the opportunity to

become american citizens. that's not going to be accepted. >> bill: voted against the dream act. how patriotic can you get? these young americans with a college education served in the military. got jobs and then they voted against them. it sun believable. the challenge is yourself, congresswoman. we're counting on you and your leadership. i'm sure it will be there as it always has been. >> bill, thanks for maintaining this strong voice of progressivism. >> bill: you're very kind. i have fun and i enjoy it. i believe in it. happy new year. good luck dealing with this bunch. >> it will be a great challenge. >> bill: congresswoman jackie speier. thank you. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. show, to be able to come away armed with the facts, and the

arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to have the passion.

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